The number of startups in Hong Kong has increased by 40 percent over the past five years to about 4,700, as the city’s innovation and technology ecosystem expanded through years of joint efforts by the government and industry, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his blog.
Chan said Hong Kong provides startups with a full-chain financing environment, from angel investment and multiple funding rounds to initial public offerings, supporting companies at every stage of development.
He highlighted Hong Kong Science & Technology Park and Cyberport, which together helped startups raise about HK$6 billion in the past year. Several companies also went public, raising a combined HK$5.2 billion.
Last week, the Science Park hosted the ninth Elevator Pitch Competition, which drew nearly 1,200 applications and offered an unprecedented HK$105 million in potential investment to innovators in digital health, fintech, and green technology.
The event is steadily emerging as a key fixture in the international startup scene, with applications coming from over 70 economies, and 87 percent of teams from outside the city, Chan noted.
Meanwhile, FinTech Week and the StartmeupHK Festival, also held last week, attracted more than 45,000 participants, 800 exhibitors, and 30 trade delegations from 120 economies.
During FinTech Week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority unveiled its “Fintech 2030” strategy, outlining more than 40 initiatives across four pillars: data and payment infrastructure, artificial intelligence, technology resilience, and financial tokenization.
The city’s thriving finance and innovation sectors are increasingly reinforcing each other, forming a key engine to accelerate the city’s next stage of high-quality economic growth, Chan said.
